Winter Season Chapter 52

While Yihyeon was chewing his lips and looking down, the office door opened and Jinhyeok appeared.

Even though it was close to evening, he looked sharp, without a single disheveled part, just as he had when he arrived at work. He turned his head toward Yihyeon while putting on the jacket he was holding.

“I have to head out early due to an external schedule. Everyone else, finish up reasonably and head home, and Mr. Kwon Yihyeon, follow me out.”

Again?

Starting with the dinner meeting with the opposition party member last time, Gu Jinhyeok often took Yihyeon to meetings with famous figures. Sometimes the counterpart was the president of a construction company, sometimes a bank president, and sometimes a pastor of a famous church.

It was hard to say this was a consideration given in the sense of expanding his network, because there was nothing for him to do there. He just sat quietly and ate before leaving. While swallowing the scratchy food, he tried listening to their conversations, but most of it was just mundane daily content.

If there was one commonality, it was that everyone showed a significant amount of interest in him. It made sense that curiosity would be piqued when a young man who seemed to have no relation to Gu Jinhyeok sat beside him as a secretary, so it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Dining with total strangers was uncomfortable and difficult to the point of indigestion, but he couldn’t refuse Jinhyeok’s words. Yihyeon bowed to the people around him, packed his things, and followed behind Jinhyeok.

The person they met today was said to be the president of a certain logistics company, whose face was dripping with grease. The hand he offered for a handshake was large and thick, looking more like a toad’s than a human’s.

As Yihyeon inevitably took the hand and shook it weakly, the man squeezed his hand tight. The damp palm was unpleasant, but Yihyeon looked down, pretending to be composed.

“…So, I hear the party preparations are going well.”

“We are preparing diligently so as not to disappoint.”

“Disappointment, when it’s been a while since our General Manager hosted one? My expectations are very high.”

Yihyeon suddenly raised his head at the mention of the party while picking at his food. It was to listen to the conversation between the man and Gu Jinhyeok, but the logistics company president was looking at him instead of Gu Jinhyeok.

When their eyes met, the greedy-looking eyes curved into arcs. It was a simple smile, but Yihyeon felt an instantaneous sense of unpleasantness, so he quickly looked down and narrowed his brow.

The meal, which felt endlessly long, ended, and Jinhyeok saw President Nam off. Only then did tension leave his body, and as Yihyeon let out a small sigh, Jinhyeok’s gaze landed on him.

“Were you nervous?”

“It wasn’t quite that…. I just don’t know why you bring me to these kinds of places.”

At the honest answer, the corner of Jinhyeok’s mouth flicked up. Was this such a funny question? As Yihyeon stared blankly at him, Jinhyeok spoke.

“You’ll find out everything later.”

It was still an unfathomable statement, but he just shut his mouth and nodded. Jinhyeok, who was looking down at Yihyeon with eyes full of laughter, lightly pulled Yihyeon’s arm.

“There’s a nice bar nearby. Would you like to go for a glass of wine?”

“A bar?”

“It’s a bit of a shame to send you home like this.”

The sight of Jinhyeok waiting for Yihyeon while holding the passenger door was charming even to another man.

His composed attitude in every matter, his leisurely tone, his orderly gait. There were times when he gave off a somewhat chilly atmosphere, but that was probably just a feeling, and perhaps if they had become involved in a different way, Yihyeon might have felt quite a bit of attraction. And the thought that there must have been more than one or two people who had similar thoughts flashed through his mind.

Since there was no reason for him to refuse the offer of another drink, Yihyeon nodded. Jinhyeok lightly closed the passenger door after confirming that Yihyeon was seated.

The car stopped in front of a lobby that said Taesung Hotel. When Yihyeon looked at Jinhyeok inquisitively, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t look at me like that. I brought you here because the rooftop bar is nice.”

As he followed Jinhyeok up the elevator, a luxuriously decorated bar indeed appeared. Jinhyeok waved away the manager who recognized him and ran out quickly, then took a seat at the bar table as if he were familiar with it.

Gentle jazz music tickled his ears. It was an atmosphere where a single glass of beer would likely cost tens of thousands of won. Yihyeon scanned the people sitting at their respective tables having leisurely conversations before turning his head toward Jinhyeok.

“It’s my first time at a place like this.”

“I should have brought you sooner.”

He had a soft smile on his face the whole time as if he were in a good mood. Finding it awkward to meet the gaze looking down at him, Yihyeon turned his head and met the eyes of a bartender approaching this way. A wine bottle was held in his hand.

“I will prepare the wine you requested.”

“Set it down and go about your business.”

As the bartender bowed and headed to the other side, Jinhyeok picked up the bottle. The liquid flowing down the glass wall of the thin wine glass was a dark red, like blood. As he picked up the glass the man pushed forward, a fruity scent similar to the one he had drunk at his house last time wafted over him.

Jinhyeok kept his gaze on him even while tilting his glass. When he stared like this, it felt as if his inner thoughts were being seen through, which made him nervous. It was a feeling that someone hiding something inevitably had to overcome.

Yihyeon naturally avoided his eyes and ran his tongue over his lips. His already dark lips became even more tinged with red.

“Is the work manageable?”

Even if he called it work, what he did in the secretary’s office was at most simple errands.

He did odd jobs requested by other secretaries, and when he had free time, he aimlessly flipped through the manual he received on the first day, and then went out with Jinhyeok when called.

He must know that too, so what was the reason for asking?

“Everyone seems busy lately. …It seems like there’s some kind of event.”

If Jinhyeok didn’t bring up the completion party first, he could just bring it up himself. Yihyeon hid his expression by raising the glass to his lips.

“Didn’t Gu Seunghyeok tell you? I thought you’d already know.”

Yihyeon shook his head toward Jinhyeok, who was looking at him. He put on a composed face so as not to be caught in a lie, but his gaze fell quickly.

“There’s a lounge building I’ve been paying attention to since the design stage, and the completion is soon. We’re holding an event to commemorate it. They’re probably busy with the final preparations for that.”

Watching Jinhyeok calmly state content he already knew, Yihyeon fidgeted with his fingers. How could he naturally bring up the fact that he wanted to go together?

“…I suppose the people you’ve been meeting lately are the ones coming there.”

“Some are, some aren’t.”

Jinhyeok tilted his head and shrugged.

“On Sunday, that is, the day after tomorrow. Do you happen to have a schedule?”

“Pardon?”

“You seem interested, so I thought, how about we go together?”

Thanks to Gu Jinhyeok making the offer first without him even mentioning wanting to go, his heart began to throb and beat rapidly. After taking a sip of wine while pretending to be calm, he carefully parted his lips.

“…Is it a place where someone like me can go?”

“That’s up to the host. What do you think, Mr. Yihyeon?”

He clenched his fist tightly under the table. What came to mind along with the thought that he had passed one hurdle was, for reasons he didn’t know, Gu Seunghyeok’s face. Yihyeon looked up at Jinhyeok and spoke.

“I want to go too.”

At Yihyeon’s answer, Jinhyeok flicked the corner of his lips up. Then, instead of an answer, he swirled his wine glass.

“The first floor is set up like a large banquet hall, and above that, there are rooms like hotel guest rooms.”

“……”

“If Mr. Kwon Yihyeon says he’s going, I think I’ll end up wanting to take you all the way to those upper floors.”

“……”

“Do you still want to go?”

Rooms like hotel guest rooms. He wasn’t such a fool that he couldn’t understand the meaning of saying he would take him there. However, his lips felt parched at the sentence that was more explicit than expected.

He swallowed hard. If asked whether he disliked Gu Jinhyeok, he could answer no. Because he was the most mature, calm, and kind person among everyone he knew.

However, human liking did not necessarily mean sexual attraction. He couldn’t imagine himself rolling around in bed with him.

“…Do you want to sleep with me?”

At the question uttered quietly, Jinhyeok’s gaze shifted upward.